2017 Formula 1 Calendar is Official: 20 Races, No German Grand Prix

The 2016 Formula 1 season that just ended last weekend was the longest in the sport’s history and will remain that way for at least a year. After much speculation regarding specific circuits, the calendar for the upcoming 2017 season has just been confirmed by the FIA. You can check it out in full below.

The calendar is nearly identical to that of the 2016 season with a few exceptions: the Germany Grand Prix is absent, the Chinese and Bahrain Grand Prix have been switched around, and the European Grand Prix has been moved back one weekend to avoid clashing with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which had been a point of controversy earlier this year as many racing fans had wished to see both (though if the clash ever occurs again and you are wondering which race to watch, definitely pick Le Mans).

The current F1 World Champion, Nico Rosberg, is German—yet no German Grand Prix

Ironically, the Nürburgring is where the German Grand Prix should have taken place in 2017 and it saddens me that it once again missing from the calendar, as it had been in 2015. There has been a lot of talk recently about famous tracks that might be dropped from the calendar because of failure to pay the fee, such as Monza in Italy or even Spa in Belgium.

To me, this is mind boggling. Some of these tracks have been around since the very infancy of Formula 1 and are to many fans an inherent part of the sport, as are the countries where they are located. Could you imagine an F1 season without a race in Italy, home to Ferrari and the most ardent F1 fans in the world? I certainly couldn’t.

Yet it may be even more criminal that Germany isn’t hosting a race next year, as it not only has the tracks—both the Nürburgring and Hockenheimring are F1-grade circuits with prestigious heritage—but is also home to Mercedes, which has won the World Championship for the last three years running and supplies the majority of F1’s engines.

Sebastian Vettel, a German four-time Formula 1 World Champion, is also confused about the lack of German Grand Prix

Additionally, four of the 22 drivers on the grid are German, and 10 of the last 17 World Championships have been won by German drivers. If that wasn’t enough, Nico Rosberg—the current World Champion—is German.

Yet somehow, Germany is not on the calendar and Azerbaijan gets to host the “European” Grand Prix despite not being located in Europe. I guess oil money is more important than heritage and giving the fans what they want.

Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.